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You have a responsibility to report all accidents / incidents to your line manager as soon as possible after it has occurred. Your line manager has a responsibility to report your accident/incident on the online reporting system and take any necessary action to prevent it happening again.

Examples of accidents / incidents are:

• Verbal aggression, threatening or intimidating behaviour. These incidents are never ‘just part of the job’ and should ALWAYS be reported to your line manager.
• Aggressive, threatening or intimidating behaviour in a non-verbal manner such as on social media or via email, these should also be reported to your line manager and logged as verbal aggression.
• Slips, trips or falls – if there are no injuries they should be logged as ‘near miss’ but by doing this it allows your line manager to be aware of the issue e.g. such as a wet floor, and take action to prevent someone else from slipping which does result in an injury.
• Minor injuries received at work – these are sometimes not reported as they just result in bruising or small cuts but may have the potential to cause more serious injury so should be reported.
• Misuse of equipment – this may indicate that the equipment isn’t suitable for the job or that additional training on its use is required.

Did you know - Reporting of Near Miss incidents are as important as reporting of an accident incident that has led to an injury. Near miss incidents are any events that happen that have the potential to result in an injury or ill health.

IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHETHER TO REPORT AN ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT SPEAK TO YOUR LINE MANAGER.

Harassment and bullying from any source is unacceptable in any form and will not be tolerated by us. Incidents of harassment or bullying may be referred to the police. Some aspects of harassment and bullying will fall into the scope of the Equalities Act and the protected characteristics contained within it.

Harassment and bullying occurs when someone is repeatedly and deliberately abused, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group of individuals due to the work they undertake e. g. service users or their families, members of the public or people in receipt of Council services.

An overarching risk assessment for sexual harassment has been developed and Managers should ensure that they include any specific risks within their service in their activity risk assessments and take any reasonable actions to prevent the opportunity for sexual harassment to employees from both internal and external sources.

Internal cases of harassment and bullying should be referred to the Behavioural Standards in the Workplace Guidance and Grievance Procedure, and with support and guidance from People Management (HR Officers).

If you work indoors in an office/ council service or at home – what can you do to keep cool?

Keep the heat out

• Keep curtains on windows exposed to the sun closed while the temperature outside is higher than it is inside. Once the temperature outside has dropped lower than it is inside, open the windows.

Keep body temperature down

• Wear loose fitting cotton clothing
• Keep hydrated – drink plenty of water throughout the day
• Have cold food – salad and fruit for lunch
• If feeling particularly hot and uncomfortable sprinkle water on to clothes and face. A damp paper towel/ towel on the back of the neck can help regulate temperature.
• If going into the sun apply a min of SPF15 sunscreen (apply 20-30 minutes before going outside) on any exposed skin. You should take particular care if you have fair or freckled skin that doesn’t tan, or goes red or burns before it tans; red or fair hair and light coloured eyes and a large number of moles.
• Water external and internal plants, and spray the ground outside windows with water (avoid creating slip hazards) to help cool the air.

If you need to travel in vehicles:

• Check coolant and oil levels before travelling to ensure they high and top up as necessary
• When driving at under 50 mph, turn the air conditioning right down or off, to save energy wasted by the engine. Lower speeds make the engine work harder to produce the cold air, which in extreme heats could cause a breakdown
• Check that you have breakdown cover
• Carry extra water with you in case you are stuck in traffic
• Try and park cars in the shade
• If available, use windscreen covers to reduce the sun shining directly onto vehicle controls.

If you work outdoors - what can you do to protect yourself?

• Keep your top on – wear proper sun-protective clothing, such as long-sleeved tops and long trousers.
• KEEP YOUR PPE ON – HARD HATS AND HI-VIS JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES (as outlined in risk assessments)
• Stay in the shade whenever possible, during your breaks and especially at lunchtime.
• If it is safe to do so and it isn’t breaching any site rules or risk assessment requirements, you can remove personal protective equipment during breaks to help encourage heat loss.
• Apply a min of SPF15 sunscreen (apply 20-30 minutes before going outside) on any exposed skin. You should take particular care if you have fair or freckled skin that doesn’t tan, or goes red or burns before it tans; red or fair hair and light coloured eyes and a large number of moles.
• Drink plenty of water/ cool beverages to avoid dehydration. When working hard in heat employees should consume around 250 ml (half a pint) every 15 minutes or 500 ml (a pint) every 30 minutes.
• Managers will discuss with individual operational teams whether working times can be adjusted (if this is operationally possible) e.g. to commence earlier, start later or take breaks to avoid the mid-day sun. 
• Keep an eye out for the early symptoms of heat stress and closely monitor and check on co-workers for signs of heat illness. Typical symptoms are:
1. Unable to concentrate;
2. Muscle cramps;
3. Heat rash;
4. Severe thirst - a late symptom of heat stress;
5. Fainting;
6. Heat exhaustion - fatigue, giddiness, nausea, headache, moist skin;
7. Heatstroke - hot dry skin, confusion, convulsions and eventual loss of consciousness.

Useful links

HSE: Heat Stress

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